


the weight of a righteous fury, undermined

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Diego is trying, Five curses sm smh, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lila is there for a hot second, Number Five | The Boy Deserves Better, Number Five | The Boy Gets A Hug, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Protective Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: Diego and Five argue about the Commission.It reveals more than Five intended.(AKA Five and Diego should’ve had a Commission conversation darn it)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 441





	the weight of a righteous fury, undermined

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post: https://e-vasong.tumblr.com/post/629904876686770176/leah-here-is-there-anyway-i-could-see-that
> 
> And also partially this post: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/post/629918052155293696/any-headcanonsthoughts-for-the-commission

"You _kidnapped_ my brother and made him work for the _Commission?_ "

"Cool your jets, shortstack, he didn’t stay there for long."

Five threw up his hands, "That’s not the point! You  know what the Commission is like. How could you take my brother there?" He pulled at his hair, "How could you claim to care about him and then throw him to the fucking wolves?" 

Lila put her hands on her hips, "Diego could’ve handled it, old man-“

Five glared, shaking, "That’s not the point-“

"Well then  what _is_ the point, Five?"

"Damnit it Lila he's not _like us_ , he has  _morals_ _!_ "

Lila opened her mouth only to be interrupted by an annoyed, "You know it’s rude to talk about someone like they’re not here."

Five and Lila turned, Lila brightening, "Diego! Could you tell your brother to take a valium? I thought the apocalypse was the reason for the stick up his ass, but I can see now that he’s just like that."

Five's lips curled, jabbing a finger at her, "If you so much as take my family across the block without telling me, I’ll choke you out with your own intestines. You got that?"

Lila rolled her eyes as Five turned, pushing past Diego and vanishing before his brother could so much as say hello.

Diego shook his head with a sigh of resignation, "Here. I’ll go talk to him."

Lila crossed her arms, artfully unbothered and not fooling anyone, "Sure, do whatever you want, Diego. It’s not like  I _care_ what he thinks. He’s an ass."

Diego snorted, patting her shoulder knowingly before turning to go find his brother.

He found Five sulking in the courtyard, leaning against the statue of Ben, lips pulled into a frown. Diego shoved his hands into his pockets, "Hey, bro. What’s up?"

Five scowled, not looking up at him, "I know what you’re doing and I don’t want to hear it right now."

Diego carefully crouched down, clasping his hands in front of him. He cocked his head, trying to peer up at Five who studiously avoided his gaze. He waited another moment, before asking, "So you wanna tell me why you blew up at Lila over the Commission?"

Five huffed, lips thin, "Do I have a choice?"

Diego rubbed his hands, thinking carefully. He settled on, "Yes. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want too. But I will be forced to tell Lila that you’re going through male menopause."

Five snorted, dragging a hand down his face, lips thinning, "Well, when you put it like that, what other choice do I have?"

He sighed, finally meeting his eyes- and there was something impossibly heavy in them, "You just don’t understand, Diego. You  couldn't understand. You already know Herb and Dot and the others and you don’t- you just aren’t  _able_ too."

Diego lifted his brows, trying to quell his rising irritation, "How can I understand if you won’t even try, Five?"

Five scowled, shifting, moving away as Diego straightened behind him, "Fine. _Trying_. Right. I was stuck in the apocalypse for forty years, Diego.  _Forty fucking years._ Longer than you’ve even  _lived_."

He turned, throwing out a hand, "The Commission  _knew_ where I was the whole time. The whole fucking time! I was a  thirteen year old stuck at the end of the world, surrounded by the literal rotting, festering  _corpses_ of my  _family_ , struggling to even fucking survive as they stood by and watched like I was some mildly interesting tv program."

Five shook his head, lips curved upwards with bitterness, "They waited to recruit me until was too old and too desperate to give a shit about the terms and conditions. So  _no_ , I don’t approve of your new buddies Dot and Herb and the new and improved Commission. As far as I’m concerned, they’re still the same dickheads who stood by and watched- no, tried their best to _cause_ the world to end."

Diego held up his hands, taken aback by the strength of his fury, "Five, they're- they're pencil pushers, it’s not like they could’ve done anything-“

"Oh they could’ve! They clearly could’ve!" He hissed, "But they did it  anyway and they didn’t give a single shit about all the people they killed. And you know what’s  _worse_ , Diego? Lila took you there. Lila tried to  _recruit_ you-“

Diego eyes narrowed, not understanding what he was trying to say, "Yeah and? That’s what they did to you!"

Five snapped, frustrated, "That’s the whole damn  point! That’s  _exactly_ what they did to me!"

Diego scoffed, folding his arms, "Seriously? Is  _that_ what this is about? You don’t think I’m good enough, huh?"

Five snarled, "Don’t be a fucking child, Diego-“

"Oh, like you’re one to talk-“

"I don’t want you to turn out like me, Diego!" Five's voice cracked, something fragile and lost and  _furious_ there, "Do you think I  _wanted_ to be this?"

There was an unsettling brokenness in the dark of his eyes and in the set of his jaw. He clenched his fists, fury flaring, "They made me a  _killer_ , Diego! They made sure I could  _never_ belong anywhere once they were done with me. I’ve- I've committed the most brutal fucking atrocities. I caused the Hindenburg and fucking- fucking JFK! Literal fucking  _genocide_! I’ve killed countless innocent people! I’ve killed  _children_! All on  _their_ orders!"

Diego swallowed as Five raged, words spilling unstoppable from him as if the floodgates had finally opened, "I am a fucking  _monster_ , Diego. And Lila was going to do that to  _you._ You, who tried to get into a police academy, who, when you flunked out- took up vigilantism because you wanted to fucking  _help_ people!"

Five ran a hand through his air, anger taking on an edge of hysteria, "Hell, the first thing you did when you went to nineteen sixty-three was try to save the president! You’re an asshole and an idiot, but at least you  care about people! You give a shit! You  _save_ people! I don’t\- I- I'm a  _monster_. The Commission helped make me that monster and Lila tried to do that to you too. And I can’t fucking forgive her for that. For bringing you right into the Handler's grasp when I tried _so hard_ to make sure you never met that psychotic bitch. For trying to warp you into- into _me_ -“

Diego stared and Five took a breath, shaking his head, exasperated, "You didn't even  _know_ the amount of danger you were in, did you? Fucking damn it-“ he dug his hands into his eyes, "I don’t know why she would even think you were right for a job like that. It would _kill_ you, Diego. Do you understand me? A job like that  kills you inside. And you," his voice cracked, "You would’ve  _died_."

Diego took a step forward and Five glared up at him, confused and wary. His brother finally sighed, "Five, you big idiot."

Five growled, hackles rising, "Oh  _I’m_ the idiot? Oh really, asshole? I’m going to kick your ass-“ he was cut off with a yelp as Diego reached forward, yanking him into a tight hug.

Five struggled, hitting him, "Let go of me asshole! Let go!"

Diego hugged him tighter, "Nope. I can’t. This is a mandatory hug now."

Five squawked, "What? Why?"

Diego sat, or fell more like, to the ground, dragging Five with him, "Because you're a self sacrificial little shit. And that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me."

Five stilled, huffing, "You’re a dick."

Diego snorted wetly and Five froze, "Diego-?”

Diego held tight, "I’m sorry, Five, that we weren’t there to save you from that. I don’t care what you’ve done, I’m glad you're alive."

Five closed his eyes, breathing in, "Diego-“

"And I appreciate you looking out for me, bro. I get it. Okay? That’s how we feel about you too. But I can deal with Lila. I know you’re angry with her. I know you are. But that bitch was also her mother. She’s trying to be better and getting angry at her won’t help."

Five huffed, muttering bitterly, "...I’m not angry at  _her_. I’m just- I’m angry at- at something. _Everything_. Nothing."

Diego sighed as Five adjusted, his hands curling hesitantly around his back, as if unsure of what he was supposed to do as they lay, against each other, imperfect and broken on the dirt and the grass, mending together.

Five sighed, tired and weary, his eyes hard, the lines around his mouth more pronounced. They were old eyes, unsettling under the long lashes and baby fat. Such a young face and such ancient eyes. His little brother, older than any of them, working, suffering, and sacrificing to get back to them for longer than he’d even been alive.

Diego ran a hand through his hair, feeling his brother melt against him, "I'd be pissed as fuck too, Five."

He remembered just a few days ago when Vanya had told him very quietly, that Five was touch-starved, he’d scoffed, saying he was more touch  _averse_ and Vanya had given him a deadpan look that could’ve rivaled Ben's. 

He understood her now.

Five had been so resistant, but as soon as he’d pulled him close, he’d relaxed, boneless, _desperate_ , but almost too scared to hold on, as if he would vanish at any moment.

Starved was an understatement. 

Forty-five years, he'd said.

_Alone_.

Yeah, he was fucking angry. At Dad, at that Handler bitch, at the world for taking his brother from him and forcing him through hell. But there was nowhere for that anger to go. There was no release.

So Diego pulled his brother closer and did his damndest to remind Five that they would not leave him to face such horrors alone.   


Not again. 

_Never_ again. 

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is here: https://ford-ye-fiji.tumblr.com/


End file.
